“Certainly, I’ll remake and bring back just that part.”

A moment later, Ian moved behind her and untied the knot he had tied. As the shoulder blades pressing on her lungs disappeared, Helena quietly exhaled the breath that had welled up.

The sensation of leather under her fingers was still unfamiliar. Like the tension that now filled her stomach dully.

Unlike usual, Helena had to muster some courage to meet his eyes.

However, just as she was about to open her mouth, Ian spoke first.

“There’s no need to thank me. Mr. Flam ordered it.”

“…”

Helena’s slightly parted lips closed. It was a kind of consideration, but that wasn’t what she had been about to say. But it was fine as long as she could relieve the tension in her stomach.

So she lowered her eyes and opened her mouth again.

“Thank you anyway.”

She barely managed to hold back the words that were about to burst out like a sneeze.

‘Why are you being so nice to me?’

What am I to you, after all.

Tap, tap, tap.

The sound of dry wood hitting wood echoed in the room. The chair, which was the source of the sound, was teetering back and forth precariously, almost falling over but coming back repeatedly.

Elai rested his head on his interlocked palms while pushing and pulling the table with his right foot.

Eden, who was sharing the same table, told him without taking his eyes off the book he was reading.

“If you’re that worried, just go.”

Elai replied without opening his closed eyes.

“Nonsense.”

At the curt voice, Eden sighed briefly and turned the page.

Tap, tap, tap.

The dry impact sound continued afterward. Finally, Eden spoke in a more resolute tone.

“Then I’d appreciate it if you could leave, it’s distracting.”

Only then did the rocking chair come to an abrupt stop. Elai opened his eyes, unlocked his fingers, and lowered his foot that had been on the table. Then he blinked and stared blankly at Eden.

Rather than expecting some kind of reaction from him, it was closer to a gaze of organizing his thoughts.

Of course, nothing changed even after staring like that for a while. The face-to-face encounter with the bookworm nerd never happened in the end.

So Elai stood up from the chair completely. It was a big movement that detached his body from the backrest, but his flexible body movement made him difficult to perceive.

“Acting tough when you were going to leave anyway.”

Of course, it was still an annoying movement to someone sensitive.

Eden finally raised his head, adjusting his glasses. He quietly watched Elai preparing to leave through the glass lenses.

Always pretending to be aloof and uninterested in everything. He knew that Elai had just as much worry and sense of responsibility despite his words.

One way or another, Elai Pennhagen was the sword of the Rihart Empire, the captain of the First Imperial Knights. He must be wearing lightness to bear that weight.

Regardless of background or the power of mighty families, he was the one who guarded Ian’s side purely with his skills.

“I’ll leave it to you for a bit.”

…Although his occasionally apparent lax sense of duty was a slight flaw, as shown now.

However, since things had never gone wrong when he stepped up, Eden accepted it readily.

“Do you know where he is?”

“How many years have I known that tadpole? I can figure it out roughly.”

Elai, with the strap of his bag slung over his left shoulder, rummaged through the luggage Odyssey had left. Soon, Odyssey’s plump money pouch was exchanged for Elai’s slim one.

Eden reproached him with a look of disdain.

“Feel good stealing a kid’s pocket money?”

Elai paid no mind and stuffed the money pouch into his bag before strapping his sword to his waist. His self-justification poured out without hesitation as a bonus.

“There are three errors in your statement. First, Odyssey is not a kid.”

This time he picked up a white ciabatta bread and fig jam from Samte’s luggage.

Everyone often misunderstands because of his size, but Samte had quite a decent palate. So this would be excellent food that would satisfy both the tongue and the hungry stomach.

Elai opened the lid and savored the smell of the fig jam for a moment before continuing.

“Second, it’s not pocket money but a considerable sum soaked with sweat.”

The bag, which had become lumpy with various items, flattened out after Elai tapped it a couple of times.

Now he turned his eyes to Eden’s luggage. Of course, he was refused as if it was out of the question.

But Elai didn’t get discouraged. He slapped the cover of the book Eden was reading, closing it with a thud, and headed for the doorway.

“Third, I’m not stealing, I’m just borrowing for a while.”

A fierce glare shot from Eden. Ignoring him, Elai lit a match on the wick of the oil lamp mounted on the upper wall.

His face was nonchalant as he brushed back the blonde hair that had fallen onto the middle of his forehead.

“Your eyes are getting bad because you’re always burying your nose in tiny letters in the dark.”

“Better than losing my mind like you. Don’t come back after losing your memory again.”

Elai made a light nasal sound at Eden’s scathing critique. Despite his weakness being touched upon, he still maintained a smooth attitude.

He just moved the lamp handle to Eden’s side and changed the topic.

“You should start moving too once you communicate with the southern reconnaissance troops. We need to reunite our lord with Sir Cedric before he withers away.”

“I see you had enough presence of mind left to remember that.”

“What do you think I came all the way here for? The imperial palace is too boring.”

“Kill that grotesque taste of yours for the smell of blood.”

Elai just smiled faintly without answering.

He hooked the bag strap on two fingers and swung it over his shoulder, then turned around without any particular farewell.

Soon the sound of the door closing passed. Eden pushed the bookmark he had inserted earlier to open the book again.

‘That beast… It was about time he let loose once.’

It was a bright autumn afternoon.

The yellow soil spread over the training ground emitted the heat it had absorbed throughout the afternoon. However, there were two figures moving about regardless of it.

“If you back down here, you’ll get hurt. Hold on!”

“Your strength is too much!”

Thwack! Tap!

The sound of wooden swords clashing continued endlessly, and dust rose in a haze.

The sparring that had started under the pretext of training for beast subjugation. Helena, who had started lightly saying not to go easy on her, was now giving her all in earnest.

Ian, who had readily agreed saying he understood, was also dealing with her sincerely. He was relentlessly striking at Helena, gradually driving her to the edge of the training ground.

‘At this rate…!’

Helena gritted her teeth and withstood the attacks, but she was gradually reaching her limit. Eventually, her right foot stepping back left the yellow soil of the training ground and stepped onto the ground outside.

Then the heel of her left foot, which was moving next, caught on the small ledge marking the boundary. With her center of gravity already completely shifted to one side, her body fell backward before she could regain balance.

Ian quickly stretched out his arm.

“Oh dear.”

He grasped Helena’s arm to support her and pulled her sharply. Helena, whose flow had been broken and whose legs had lost strength, was drawn in just like that.

Adding to the momentum, Helena, who almost crashed into Ian’s chest, let out a short groan.

“Ugh.”

Ian released her arm once she regained her balance. Helena placed her hand on Ian’s swollen chest, taking in slightly quickened breaths.

Rough metal, sweat, and a hint of mint. The masculine scent hit her face strongly.

Helena slowly pulled away from his embrace, pushing with the palm of her hand that was resting on him.

The bridge of her nose that had collided was slightly reddened. Seeing this, Ian burst into laughter. Helena’s eyes narrowed.

“You did that on purpose.”

“That must be your imagination.”

Ian cupped Helena’s cheeks with his large hands, still trying to suppress his laughter. He carefully turned her face this way and that, examining her skin, while Helena continued to glare at him.

Ian, still with his palms on her cheeks, stroked her reddened nose bridge with his thumb and added:

“…Probably?”

The voice that came from the corners of his mouth, smoothly curled up, was no different from that mischievous smile.

Helena let out a dissatisfied sound that implied protest. Her lips, which had become plump due to her cheeks being pressed between Ian’s palms, quivered.

Why was it so hard to take his eyes off that small movement?

‘Don’t be conscious of it.’

Ian struggled to avert his gaze and let her go completely. However, his cunning gaze was naturally trying to go there again.

Having no choice, Ian turned his body completely. He lightly flicked up the end of the wooden sword scattered on the ground with his toe and grabbed it. Then he reminded her of the original purpose.

“Overall, it was excellent. Your technique and speed are flawless, comparable to Odyssey’s. The number of exchanges without interruption was also considerable.”

Helena, who had escaped from both his grasp and his embrace, walked alongside Ian. He didn’t look at her as he was busy tapping the wooden sword on the ground to shake off the dirt.

Helena took a breath and then asked.

“Who is Odyssey?”

Ian’s head finally lifted at that.

“Ah… He’s a knight belonging to my merchant group, like Sakin. He has the same red hair as you.”

Ian glanced at a corner of the training ground. Sakin, who had found the two of them after wandering around and was crouching on the ground, was there.

Glancing at him, Ian got to the main point.

“But Helen. How many times do you think the tip of your sword hit me in that sparring just now?”

“Were you even counting that?”

“Think about it carefully.”

“I was too caught up to…”

Helena’s expression became strange as her words trailed off. Thinking back, she realized she couldn’t remember the sensation of hitting flesh rather than a hard wooden stick.

As if to confirm this, Ian shook his head horizontally.

“Not even once.”

“…That can’t be.”

Helena opened her mouth slightly. Her face showed some shock, but Ian continued to reveal the facts without stopping.

“You have too strong an avoidance tendency. You instinctively avoid collisions. So while you’re specialized in defense, it’s disadvantageous for attacking someone. You’ve never attacked anyone before, have you?”